April is Autism Awareness month. Autism has struck us pretty close to home, our son Anakin was diagnosed with it when he was two. It’s been a struggle and a blessing. He’s 8 and non-verbal, but he’s learning new signs all the time. He’s starting to pick them up faster and it’s so awesome to see the progress he makes everyday. He’s such a little sweetheart & his laughter is almost magical.

If you’ve never met any one with Autism, odds are that you will soon, about 1 in 150 American children are diagnosed with it every year.

“Autism is a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life and affects a person’s ability to communicate and interact with others. Autism is defined by a certain set of behaviors and is a “spectrum disorder” that affects individuals differently and to varying degrees. There is no known single cause for autism, but increased awareness and funding can help families today.” (From the Autism Society of America Website)

“Here are some signs to look for in the children in your life:

• Lack of or delay in spoken language Repetitive use of language and/or motor mannerisms
• (e.g., hand-flapping, twirling objects)
• Little or no eye contact
• Lack of interest in peer relationships
• Lack of spontaneous or make-believe play
• Persistent fixation on parts of objects “

(From the Autism Society of America Website)

More information on autism

To help the cause for every wedding package booked in April I’m donating $50 to the Autism Speaks.

I’m also giving away a free portrait session* to a Quad-City area child with autism. The winner will receive a 1 hour portrait session in a location (in the Quad-City area) the child is comfortable in, a disk with High resolution digital files from the session and a free 8×10. To enter just send an e-mail to tiffanie@tiffanieimages.com with the following.

• Name
• Phone Number
• E-mail address
• Age of the child

A drawing will be held May 5th to select the winners. If you have any questions e-mail them to Tiffanie@tiffanieimages.com.

Here is an image of last years winner.

If you would like to make a personal donation to Autism speaks you can do so here or to the ASA.

These are some other helpful links if you want to learn more about Autism or know someone with autism and are looking for help.

http://www.autismspeaks.org/
http://www.autism-society.org/
http://www.autismlink.com/
http://www.talkaboutcuringautism.org/index.htm

Quad-cities Support groups
http://www.autismqc.org/calendar.htm
http://www.qcautismcenter.org/page/page/2959054.htm
QC yahoo group – http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/quadcityautism/
Iowa Services – http://www.autismlink.com/locations/view/16
Illinois Services – http://www.autismlink.com/locations/view/14

Gluten-Free Casein-Free Diet information
Recipes, menu planning & info – http://gfcf-diet.tacanow.org/
http://www.gfcfdiet.com/

* Portrait session will be based on availability. No substitutions.

Spring is finally here! I’m so excited to get out & start shooting again.  Winter has lasted way too long.

This Sunday I got out with a few other photographer’s as part of the Quad-City flickr group. It was our biggest meeting to date.  My friend Teresa Ousely of Wiz of Oz photography brought two gorgeous models with for us to shoot.  Stephanie Pauley & Teresa Sellars, I can’t believe these girls, they tromped around the village in the cold in these tiny dresses, while about 20 photographers surrounded them.  They were so nice & they did an amazing job.

Here are a few of my faves so far.  I’m sure I’ll be posting more soon.

Valentine’s day is almost as romantic as your wedding day!

Tell me how you met your sweetie & how awesome they are!
Set up a consultation with me to share your wedding plans & your stories.

If you set it up between now & the end of February, you’ll get
a free engagement guest book*  ($199 value) with your wedding package!

E-mail me at Tiffanie@Tiffanieimages.com or fill out my
contact form for more details & to set up your appointment.

Hurry, 2010 dates are filling quickly!

* Must book a wedding package with Tiffanie Weaver Photography with a retainer & signed contract.  Good only for 8×8, 20 page engagement album with fabric cover, no substitutions.

I was so excited to get to shoot pictures of baby R.  My sister’s best friends Lindsey & Doug just had a baby, my sister has been telling me how awesome Lindsey is for years, so I was excited to spend some time with her & her new family.  My sister doesn’t lie, they’re both very sweet.  Plus I’ve been hibernating a bit for the winter, so it was nice to start shooting again. I can’t wait for spring!

Here are a few of my favorites so far.

Who wouldn’t love a face this sweet!

I love baby toes, how cute.

It’s the beginning of a new year, so I thought I’d share with you some of my favorite pictures from 2009.

It’s hard to pick my most favorite, but the one at the top of this post certainly makes me smile!

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday season & I hope you all have a 2010 that’s jam packed with awesomey-goodness!

I’m supposed to be on vacation, but I wanted to put up a blog post since I haven’t done one in awhile. So I’m starting vacation after this! I’ve been super busy the last few weeks catching up with all the editing from the season’s weddings & getting some albums designed. Things are finally starting to wind down, just in time to spend some much needed time with my family for the holidays!

I love this time of year, it really makes you think about how important your family & friends are. I feel so lucky to have my caring & supportive husband, my two awesome babies & a wonderful group of family & friends close by. I hope everyone else had a wonderful thanksgiving!

I thought I’d share a few personal pictures from the last few weeks. Be prepared though, because it should be a weird mix. I didn’t post any Halloween pictures yet, but I feel I should, so I’m mixing ghouls with warm fuzzy Christmas tree moments.

My super studly zombie-obsessed husband.

I’m a vampire, cause that’s what Crystal wanted me to be.

My adorable sweet little vampire bride.

I take back the sweet part.

My cute little fireman! He doesn’t like his picture taken anymore so there’s only one.

Ok, a little bit after Halloween, a friend of mine from work gave me a surprise for Crystal. It was going to be Christmas present, but we would have had a hard time hiding this one in the attic.

Isn’t she just adorable. Crystal named her Raven, although we’ve been calling her “meep” because that’s the sound she makes all the time.

She’s too cute for words!

I love this one because he’s trying to steal her candy & hoping we won’t notice.

I swear our house isn’t usually this messy, it’s just Christmas tree boxes. Ok, I might be lying, I am not an awesome house cleaner. Thankfully my husband’s pretty good at it.

Sadly, this is probably the last year daddy is going to have to lift her up to put the star on the tree, Crystal is growing up way too fast.

About 10 minutes after we put it all up, (and yes it’s a fake tree, it looks bad, but I hate cleaning up pine needles.) trouble here came along and destroyed the bottom half of the tree & then proceeded to climb it like a crazy kitten squirrel.

Anyways, I hope the rest of you have a wonderful holiday season!

Gorgeous location, cute couple & lovely clouds, what an awesome day for an e-session! I was worried all day Sunday we’d have rain, but it held off until after the shoot!

Love those fall trees!

I can’t believe it’s been a whole year already! It’s been so great watching this little guy grow from a tiny newborn. Now he’s walking & starting to talk! It was so cute hearing him babble throughout the shoot! It was so great getting to know him & his wonderful family over the past year.

As usual, it was pretty hard to pick only a few favorites. He has so many cute expressions!

Peek-a-boo!

I think he was blowing kisses here.

He’s such a happy little guy.

This one just makes me smile.

I’m a few weeks behind on posting this one. I can’t believe what trooper’s these guys were, it was actually snowing earlier that day, and they stood outside freezing for pictures.

They did great, you wouldn’t even know they’re shivering in the shot above.   They both love snow anyways, so it was a perfect sign for their amazing wedding!

I think Jackie looks like an angel in this picture.

I think this is the coolest “getaway” car I’ve ever seen!

We made the boys  get in a quick football game!

They came up with this one, I love it!

I have the cutest, sweetest couples, I’m so lucky! We had some wonderful weather to work with too.  I hope it stays this way (no snow please!!).

Here’s a few previews from Jenny & Ben’s engagement shoot. I can’t wait for their wedding next spring.

Cory took this one, it’s one of my favorites!

We had the hardest time getting the leaves to cooperate with us for this. The wind was just crazy down by the river.

This one was Jenny’s idea, I love it!